Golden moment for Scottish 10k champ
Perth Road Runner Stuart Robertson has spoken of his pride after striking gold at the Scottish 10k Championships.
The determined athlete clocked a time of 34 minutes and 32 seconds at the Stirling course to secure top spot in the 50-59 age category.
It proved to be somewhat of a Perth takeover in the race with fellow club member Duncan Ryan finishing in 35 minutes and 22 seconds to claim silver.
Stuart (50), a greenkeeper at Craigie Hill Golf Club, was thrilled that the hours of training and commitment paid off en route to becoming a Scottish champion.
“I’d looked at the results from last year and knew the time that won it was sub 35 minutes,” he explained. “My personal best until then was 35:03.
“I knew I really needed to push it on from there. The weather was perfect with no wind and the temperature was around 10 degrees.
“I managed to dial in a speed that I needed and that was it. I was delighted to get a personal best and be first over the line.
“It’s a great feeling and you know that all of the hard work has come to fruition.
“Going out in the pouring rain and getting up at 5am for a 20-mile training run is not in vain. You’re getting something back off it.
“I’m training for the marathon up in Inverness just now. When you’re training for a marathon, you are doing a lot of miles.
“And off the back of that, the fact you’re training so hard, when you go into other races you can run really well. You’re near enough at peak fitness.”
Glancing back to watch club pal Duncan cross the line just behind him was also a special moment.
“Duncan was second and it was good for the two of us from the same club to get a gold and a silver,” Stuart continued.
“If it’s club members or guys from other clubs, you’re always having to push yourself on to be the best you can be.
“You always just try to do your best and it doesn’t matter if it’s the Perth 10k or this Scottish 10k Championships.
“It’s always about going out there and trying to get a personal best. You’re not always going to, but you give 110 per cent to do that.
“I think my competitive edge is getting stronger. It’s always been there and the older you get, you realise you might not have many more chances.
“That spurs you on to get good times and you try to cram in as much as you can over the two or three years left of running half-decent.”
Stuart has been a member with Perth Road Runners for quite some time now and he continues to see the club go from strength to strength.
“The road runners are a great bunch and the whole club has been really good for me,” he told the PA.
“It’s amazing how many people have taken up running since I first got involved. I put that down to the parkrun, it’s been one of the best things ever.
“People who would never have thought about running before get involved and then it becomes like a drug.”
There are no plans to hang up the trainers anytime soon, with Stuart adding: “There will be two or three things to keep me busy.”